Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

51 reviews

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Suicide, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

meganpbennett's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

For as disturbing and terrifying a story as The Handmaid's Tale was, I found it boring and very slow. It was very disturbing because of just how simple it would be for us to end up in this society, and just how many people seem to want us to end up in this society. 

As for the story itself, I found the narrator to be very unreliable, and the non-linear narrative was very hard to follow at times, making it hard to tell when various events were taking place. Very similar to 1984, but in a different direction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism

irinalast's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Pregnancy, and War

kayleenm7's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Started off slow, but by the middle the pacing picks up and the story gets more interesting. Atwood’s word choice and near poetic way of writing add nuance to reader’s experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Animal death

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and War

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sheshallbenamed's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Self harm

chadelaine's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

definitely a slow burn but i liked the way it built tension somewhat exponentially with the narrator at the center of three mini rebellions—

seeing the Commander, defecting with Ofglen and Mayday, and conspiring with Serena Joy and Nick

—but in the end it didn't really amount to all that much. i love the inclusion of the "Historical Notes," they're terrible and perfect.
it's definitely white feminism, with racism in this religious-extremist totalitarian regime only mentioned once, in passing, at the very end. compared to another modern classic published just two years later, Beloved, it's kind of embarrassing.
cover design review: ★★★★☆. instant one-star deduction for having author's name larger than the title (sorry Margaret Atwood), and this is especially egregious; the title is relatively tiny. we all know minimalism has become excessive but i really like this one. the centering of the title is very satisfying, with approximately equal overhang of "HANDMAID'S" on either side of the dress. and the best part, get ready for your mind to be blown: see that dot in front of the Handmaid's head? it's the eye of a face in profile looking to the left hidden in the negative space. genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and War

rory1387's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Animal death